Given the current circumstances, it’s no surprise that a lot of business owners are looking to outsourcing to help with their business needs. Many have found success in hiring remote workers. That is, they’ve found the perfect employees to fill in the vacancies that they need. However, there are also some who continue to struggle. Seems unreal, right? Especially with the huge pool of talents available. The truth is, most of the problems stem from the hiring process—not with the workers. Don’t have problems with your hiring process? Still can’t find what you need? Well, maybe the problem is you. To help you with this dilemma, here’s a list of common mistakes when hiring remote workers.
Set realistic standards.
So, you’re looking to hire a web designer? You send out your perfectly detailed job ad and sit in your chair. Confident that you’ll be receiving application emails in a minute. You wait for hours, but you don’t receive any. The hours turn to day, and then a month. Still, no emails. You wonder, ‘What have I done wrong? The job is perfect!’ You take a look at your job ad again and read each line carefully:
Job: Web-designer with 15 years of experience. Must know how to create vector images. Can write amazing copy to be posted on social media. Must know HTML, CSS, Java, Phyton, and Ruby. Can play Mozart on the piano. Can successfully cross a tight-rope while juggling balls of fire.
If you want to find the perfect employee, you have to start by setting realistic standards. In this case, you need someone who can design a website. Not an entertainer. Sometimes, adding unrelated skills as a job requirement can turn-off a lot of capable workers.
Stop complicating things!
One of the mistakes when hiring remote workers has to do with the hiring process. Which a lot of employers tend to complicate. What does this mean? For instance, you’re in need of a web designer, programmer, writer, social media manager, and graphic artist. Sure, it is possible to hire a remote worker who possesses several skills. But hiring one individual to fill-in all of the positions you need? Even a kid can tell that this is a recipe for disaster. Yes, outsourcing can be better for your business, but it doesn’t give you a reason to take advantage of people.
If you feel like your business is too young to afford to hire multiple workers at once, here’s what you can do: hire on a per-project basis. Start from your most urgent needs and hire someone who can complete those tasks.
This applies to the hiring process, too. If you’re looking for someone who can help you edit data on a spreadsheet, do you really need to go through 10 stages of interviews? The thing is, the longer you prolong the hiring process, the higher the chances are of getting someone who isn’t at par with your standards. Remember, remote workers have urgent needs, too. The good ones aren’t going to sit and wait around for something that they may not even get.
Be specific.
When dealing with remote workers, you have to be absolutely specific to what you need. You can’t just tell someone that you need a website and leave everything else to the designer. If you’re not clear with your instructions or needs, your employee may end up doing something substandard. The worst part? Your employee will most likely get the blame. Even if it was your vagueness at the beginning that led to your employee’s poor work.
If you want to get an excellent product from the get-go, be as clear as crystal when giving out your instructions.
Not communicating with your team.
Other mistakes when hiring remote workers include avoiding communication and refusing to build close ties. Communication is an important part of remote work. You don’t have to keep in touch with your employees every day. A weekly meeting is enough, just to check up on what your team has been up to. It doesn’t always have to be video meetings. Short emails will help a lot, too.
Moreover, totally withholding communication tells your team that you don’t care about what they’re doing. This could build doubts in the minds of your employees, resulting in poor work. It’s important to keep communication channels open if you want to build trust within your team. An employee who fully trusts their employer is more likely to work harder.
